Name: Date: Period: Collections, pages 359-368.
Part #2: Food Product Design from Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.
Please begin, where you left off yesterday. This should be around lines 140, on page 362.
Yesterday, you learned how the food industry uses science to add natural and artificial flavors to processed foods, which makes them even more unhealthy for you.
1-The author tells us that “aroma (smell) and memory are inextricably linked” (p. 362). What does this mean?
2-For instance, the author explains that a “smell can suddenly evoke a long-forgotten moment. The flavors of childhood foods seem to leave an indelible mark, and adults often return to them, without always knowing why. These “comfort foods” become a source of pleasure and reassurance, a fact that fast food chains work hard to promote. Childhood memories of Happy Meals can translate into frequent adult visits to McDonald’s, like those of the chain’s ‘heavy users,’ the customers who eat there four to five times a week” (p. 362). What foods do you remember eating most when you were younger? What memories do you have of eating these types of foods? And, do you still eat them now? Explain your answer in 7 or more sentences.
3-Around line 150, we are told that “great religions and philosophies have been forever changed by the ______trade” (p. 362).
4-In 1492 ______set sail to find seasoning.
5-Make an inference: Why do you think flavor and seasonings are so important to people?
6-The flavor industry emerged in the ______as processed foods began to be manufactured on a large scale (p. 362).
7-Think about it:During this era/time, what type of company did the food industry look to, for help? Why did they look to these folks? What did they have to offer in terms of expertise? How did they believe these folks could help them?
8-Who is believed to have created methyl anthranilate and what type of drink can it be found?
9-Man-made flavor additives were used mainly in baked goods, candies, and sodas until ______when what happened? ______(p. 363).
10-The American flavor industry now has annual revenues of about ______. Approximately ten thousand new processed food products are produced every ______in the US (p. 363).
11-Make an inference: If you were a CEO in the food industry, what magazines would you need to read, to keep up with the latest news about flavor innovations?
12-Respond to it: We are told that “Complex aromas, like those of coffee or roasted meat, may be composed of volatile gasses from nearly a thousand different chemicals” (p. 363). Did you know this? Now that you do know this, how does this make you feel?
13-The Food and Drug Administration does not require flavor companies to disclose the ______of their ______, so long as the chemicals are considered “GRAS” or safe (p. 364).
14-The lack of public disclosure enables the companies to maintain the ______of their ______(p. 364).
15-Break it down: So, we are told that lack of public disclosure “hides the fact that flavor compounds contain more ingredients than the foods being given their taste” (p. 364). So, what are they saying here? What has more ingredients the actual food item? Or, the flavor compounds?
16-Is it really still food, then? Explain your answer.
17-What year was the “heyday” of artificial flavors? ______(p. 250).
18-Sometimes consumers (people who purchase products) believe that “natural flavors” are better for them then “artificial flavors” ; however, the author tells us that “natural flavors and artificial flavors sometimes contain exactly the same ______, produced through different ______” (p. 365).
19-A natural flavor is not necessarily ______or purer than an ______one (p. 366).
20-The small and elite group of scientists who create most of the flavor in most of the food now consumed in the US are called ______. They come from a vast area of disciplines such as:
21-Some of the most important advances in flavor manufacturing are now occurring in the field of ______(p. 367).
22-How are complex flavors made? (p. 367).
23-On page 368, the author describes smelling a hamburger when really, it is just a ______. Explain.
24-Respond: What are examples of information in the article that changed your ideas about fast food? Cite at least one line from the article to support your answer.
25-Based on learning this new information, do you think your habits will change concerning food? Why or why not? Explain your answer.